The Grackle

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Do you know what kind of Grackle it is? Bronzed? Purple?

That one might have breed in Canada. Watch out for free loaders.

I wish I did, we don't have them over in Atlanta so this was my first time seeing them. Here's another pic of the flock, they were all over the dunes in pretty large numbers:

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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
It turns out that about 800 miles of rain on the interstate is a great way to visualize the aerodynamics of the X and doubles as a great way to get people to not want to park close to you:

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TheCrabby1

I Smell Fishy
Supporting Member
Location
Burtonsville, Md
It turns out that about 800 miles of rain on the interstate is a great way to visualize the aerodynamics of the X and doubles as a great way to get people to not want to park close to you:
Ok , stupid idea time . drumroll...........................what if you had someone paint dent's,ding's and what look's like rust or rust hole's all over ? I think parking space's might stay a little more empty around you , just sayin"""
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
why'd my comment appear in the blue ? dam hot chocolate !!

Looks like you wrote your reply inside the Quote box.

That said, anytime I see an obviously neglected beater, never washed, dents, rust, the inside filled with trash up to the ceiling ,etc. I make a point to not park next to it haha. I just know that person isn't going to care about flinging that door open right into the side of mine.
 

PhullD

First Fill-Up (of many)
Supporting Member
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
Strange looking bird, kind of skinny looking. Just my 2cents, but that lip at the front of the hood is prone to chips and rust, get a bug deflector. It works and also helps with the chips. You spent so much time on your X already. I saw a 2010 Xterra yesterday and that lip was bubbling and rusting :(
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Strange looking bird, kind of skinny looking. Just my 2cents, but that lip at the front of the hood is prone to chips and rust, get a bug deflector. It works and also helps with the chips. You spent so much time on your X already. I saw a 2010 Xterra yesterday and that lip was bubbling and rusting :(

Funny you mention the deflector, I used to have one from 06 to around 2017 when I pulled it off because it was all browned from the sun. I might get some of that 3M film this time around in that area. I haven't been on the interstate much until recently and I can already see the wear on the emblem I painted last year so its not a bad idea at all.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Moving my steering issue thread here so I can stop hogging the dumb question thread, I honestly thought I'd have resolved this by now.

So this morning and again tonight I hosed everything down with silicone spray and it made...no difference at all. Still noisy when I turn back and forth. I doesn't seem to affect drivability but its getting louder and louder so tomorrow I'm going to dig into the front end again. I measured the coilovers and the drivers side is 1/4 inch lower fender to ground but that's the only thing that stands out. I'm running out of ideas.

I always heard that Delrin bushings can't make noise but now I'm wondering how true that is. I might try to lube those somehow tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.
 
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Well, the noise is gone!

So it turns out the entire issue with this ridiculous noise was the Delrin steering rack bushings. I pulled them off this morning and put copper antisieze on the bolts/sleeves and put Sil-Glide all over the bushings themselves and reinstalled. Took it for a test drive and the noise was completely gone. Unbelievable how much noise could come from something that doesn't even move that much.
 

PhullD

First Fill-Up (of many)
Supporting Member
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
I had the same noise, but the culprit was the Hefty aluminum skid plate, I had to loosen and re-tighten a bunch of times until I got it just right. For others it is play in the lower control arm bushings that causes that pop sound.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I had the same noise, but the culprit was the Hefty aluminum skid plate, I had to loosen and re-tighten a bunch of times until I got it just right. For others it is play in the lower control arm bushings that causes that pop sound.

Crazy how hard noises like that are to track down, I'm just relieved that I don't have to replace the steering column.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Delrin is apparently out to ruin my life because now the washers I installed on my lower control arms last fall squeak like an old wagon every time the suspension cycles. The LCA's were brand new, probably didn't need the washers but I though maybe it would help prolong the life of the rubber bushings by limiting forward/backward movement and also tighten up the steering (which it did).

I had no idea Delrin was so freaking noisy but now that I'm googling the "Delrin suspension noise" I see that's is pretty common and seems to be considered noisier than poly when ungreased. I have to agree, my old poly rack bushings were silent. I guess I'll use Sil-Glide on them and see how that holds up, I've considered using a copper-based antisieze but since it's a moving part I don't know how that will hold up over time.

Oh well, at least I was able to repair the PCB for the power mirror switch and get the white LEDs to work finally:
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Nice. I need to get into mine and replace the LEDs.

It's one of the easier jobs as long as you don't accidentally burn off the contact pads like I did lol.

I upsized the two LEDs from the stock 1206 to 1210's mostly because I have a ton of leftovers lying around and they fit no problem. I don't actually remember how bright it was before but it's nice and evenly lit now.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Anti-seize isn't a lubricant so don't use it. It is an aide to make it easier to get apart. It contains abrasives to help clear the corrosion as it spins and sacrificial elements that oxidize before the metals you use it in to prevent the rust in the first place.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Anti-seize isn't a lubricant so don't use it. It is an aide to make it easier to get apart. It contains abrasives to help clear the corrosion as it spins and sacrificial elements that oxidize before the metals you use it in to prevent the rust in the first place.

Good point, I should have learned my lesson during the slide pin debacle a few years ago when I tried it there lol. I'll go with the Sil-Glide or maybe that moly UCA balljoint grease I have a tube of.
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I came this [] close to tipping over today, I went up to the mountains and on the way out I lined up the passenger tire on bank to do some flexing. But the drivers side front tire started to sink and the entire truck pitched hard left, I actually felt the entire truck rocking back and forth slightly and the angle was steep. Had to stop moving and think which way to turn the steering that would stabilize it enough to be able to open the door and get out (left). Got out to see what happened and the drivers side tire sank so much the front bottomed out on the bank (glad I installed that oil-pan skid a while back) and the passenger rear tire was about 3 inches off the ground, drivers side was completely stuffed.

Thankfully just as I was about to get out my jack to lift the drivers side of the truck enough to get the tires back down a guy rolled up in a Tacoma and helped me out with pulling it off the mound. Close one! It was on top of a narrow mountain ridge and would have been close to impossible to just roll back over without some serious equipment.

Went down by the river while I was there and saw a can, I usually grab random trash I see out there and toss it in a trash bag in the truck. This one was pretty unique though, it's an unopened can of Diet Big K with an expiration date from February 1993:
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Fromfrontier2Xterra

I bought a Taco
Super Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
All over PA
I came this [] close to tipping over today, I went up to the mountains and on the way out I lined up the passenger tire on bank to do some flexing. But the drivers side front tire started to sink and the entire truck pitched hard left, I actually felt the entire truck rocking back and forth slightly and the angle was steep. Had to stop moving and think which way to turn the steering that would stabilize it enough to be able to open the door and get out (left). Got out to see what happened and the drivers side tire sank so much the front bottomed out on the bank (glad I installed that oil-pan skid a while back) and the passenger rear tire was about 3 inches off the ground, drivers side was completely stuffed.

Thankfully just as I was about to get out my jack to lift the drivers side of the truck enough to get the tires back down a guy rolled up in a Tacoma and helped me out with pulling it off the mound. Close one! It was on top of a narrow mountain ridge and would have been close to impossible to just roll back over without some serious equipment.

Went down by the river while I was there and saw a can, I usually grab random trash I see out there and toss it in a trash bag in the truck. This one was pretty unique though, it's an unopened can of Diet Big K with an expiration date from February 1993:
Z62sHjU.jpg
Give you a dollar if you drink it lol
 

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
LOL! ↑

Too bad the mud was not dark grey or black. You might have got away with it.

Nice thing about using a carwash in the boonies where every 5th vehicle is a 1/2 or 3/4 tonne truck is that there is no dirt threshold.


I had a feeling I should have washed it while I was still outside the city, freaking neon colored clay lol.
 
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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
I got bored and pulled the rear sway bar out of storage and decided to clean it up and build a relocation bracket to adjust for the 4" lift. I ordered some links from Nissan that will be here tomorrow so I guess next weekend maybe I'll install this thing.

I know the rear doesn't really do much when not towing but I figured why not clean it up, paint, and move it up 3" to see how it works. From what I can tell, I'll have to move the emergency brake cable mounts a bit for clearance but I think that's it. I'll know more whenever I go to install it.

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General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
Are you actively towing with the X? Because otherwise I don't see a reason for this.

Nope, this one is 100% out of boredom, I saw the nisstec one that moves the bar like 1/4 inch and thought I can do better. Worst case it sucks and I'm out 20 bucks for the hardware, best case it's completely unnoticeable.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Nope, this one is 100% out of boredom, I saw the nisstec one that moves the bar like 1/4 inch and thought I can do better. Worst case it sucks and I'm out 20 bucks for the hardware, best case it's completely unnoticeable.
But when you wheel it'll be completely noticeable. I wouldn't waste your time. The rear swaybar is destined for the garage.
 
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